What the scale says...

Sunday, June 28, 2009

So I had my psychological evaluation required as part of the lap band procedure. I did alot of searching online for "tips" on how & what to say, but to be honest it really was painless. For those that may read this in the future and wonder what goes on, well here it is...

you will be given a questioner that ask some general questions on your habits both on dieting and eating. Most importantly is what do you think is the main reason for your weight gain ?? Emotional ??

They will ask you about your eating habits specifically to determine if you have any past or potential issues with eating disorders. there is a specific question as to whether you have ever vomitted after eating. By this they mean if you physically make yourself vomit after a meal, so if you have occasionally vomitted because you ate a bad burrito or you really shouldnt have had that week old leftover container of chinese food answer "NO".

You will also be asked about your control over food, do you eat till your full, comfortable, or disgusted with yourself ( there is no wrong answer here, be honest you will get a chance to elaborate on your answer)

You will also be asked about your support system after you get the surgery. This is very important since they want to know that you will have support with the life changing event that you are about to undertake. But remeber you want to be honest with your psychologist but most importantly yourself, thats the only way this decision will work for you to begin with

You will also be aked about all your past dieting attempts, the most important thing here is to establish a past of yo-yo dieting that has not worked for you.

I think the overall most important thing that you will be asked during the evaluation and the most critically important thing to understand about being banded or any weight loss surgery is that this is NOT A MAGIC BULLET !!! This is just simply an aid that will give you the power to make the change that you need for your future.

I have to say that overall I fould my evaluation to be a very pleasant experience ! My psychologist shared with me some tips that he has picked up from his other banded patients along the way and a realized that alot of the feelings that I have felt about my lack of success in losing weight is one that is shared by a majority of us in this situation.

He also pointed out that it was not uncommon to not really get that understanding as to why you are having this surgery instead of just "working out and eating better" from realtives and friends that dont have a weight problem. I have to say that till that point I was feeling a little hurt by the fact that certain people in my life dont agree with my decision to go ahead and have this surgery and I felt that I was being looked at as a weaker person for going this route instead of "just changing the way I eat and excercising " But I now feel perfectly at peace with my decision and know that this truly will be the best decision I could make for my future and that it is truly difficult for those that are lucky enough to not have this condition to ever possibly understand what it is like and appreciate that this is really the best decision...it's not there fault and it shouldnt affect your resolve !!!!

So the next step is the nutritional consultation and the initial surgical consultation and getting in all my paper work in hopes that the insurance will not put up a fight. That comes next week, I'm really starting to look forward to this and hope that it's not derailed in any way.

I would like to share my opinion and thoughts on the above article. First of all, I perform psychological evaluations to determine eligibility for the Lap Band surgery, and I regret to inform everyone that not all of the psych evaluations are as easy as the one described above. For one thing, I do not use a questionnaire asking about your eating habits, nor does my evaluation even truly focus on eating habits. Instead, I focus on relationships, coping skills, and the underlying reason that food is being used as a coping skill. Because the harsh truth is that when that coping skill is ripped away from someone, many turn to other unhealthy and harmful coping skills such as anorexia, bulimia, substance abuse, and even sexually acting out behaviors. So understand that some of us that perform these evaluations are actually very concerned about your ability to cope with the extreme stress and life changes that occur after the surgery, and do not casually clear someone for the surgery after reviewing your responses on a questionnaire.

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Hola people !! These are my musings about how I took back control of my life and am well on my way to becoming a healthier and happier me. No longer will a shell trap in my wonderful self ! I'm letting her out for good to enjoy all the beauty that life has in store !!